Tunnel of Trash Túnel de basura

Tunnel of Trash

Story and photos by Gregg McQueen

The murals are a mess.

Just two years after the city launched a beautification project for the pedestrian tunnel that connects Broadway to the 191st Street subway station for the 1 train, the passageway has fallen into disrepair.

The tunnel is filled with trash.

Local residents and subway riders are complaining about the current state of the tunnel, which is filled with trash and appearing as if it hasn’t been cleaned in several months.

Also, the large-scale, colorful murals that had revitalized the tunnel walls have been heavily marred by graffiti and peeling paint.

The murals were painted over the course of a one-week period.Photo from May 2015

“It’s become kind of an eyesore,” said one subway rider. “The murals were great, but look at it now.”

Jennifer, who frequently uses the station, said the piles of garbage in the tunnel made it an unpleasant walk for commuters.

“I find it kind of creepy,” she said. “The city should absolutely do something about it.”

The 900-foot tunnel allows straphangers to access the 1 train station and connects Broadway with St. Nicholas Avenue. At 180 feet below sea level, the station is the deepest in the subway system, according to the MTA.

In 2015, the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) sponsored an art project to beautify the once-dreary tunnel.

In collaboration with the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA), the DOT selected five artists to create murals on the tunnel wall. Each artist was given two sections of the wall to paint, each 200 feet long and 10 feet high, and was paid $15,000 each for their work.

The walls have become heavily damaged.

Although the pedestrian tunnel connects to the MTA transit system, it is mapped as a street and is owned and maintained by the DOT.

Frank, a Brooklyn resident, said he had trekked to Northern Manhattan just to see the murals in the tunnel, as he had read about the art project. He said he was stunned to see how the tunnel looks.

“I had no idea it would be this messed up,” he said. “It’s a real shame.”

Each artist was given two sections of the wall to paint.Photo from May 2015

Local resident David Toser suggested that the city should install cameras in the tunnel to deter people from damaging the murals with graffiti.

“Once there is documentation and identification of the vandals, they should be arrested and not jailed but obliged to clean the tunnel under supervision,” said Toser. “Their job would not be done until there was not a single bit of litter in the entire tunnel.”

A DOT spokesperson said the agency performed a site inspection on August 10, and removed debris and graffiti from the tunnel. However, a visit to the tunnel by Manhattan Times on August 15 found the passageway still filled with trash and no apparent change to the murals.

Cleaning services inside the tunnel are provided as resources permit, the spokesperson said.

As the DOT has been slow to remove trash from the passageway, Jennifer suggested that youth groups or students be enlisted to help clean the tunnel.

“It would be a great project for something like that,” she said. “Maybe partner with a community-based organization to get it done.”

Please note: This article has been updated from its original publication to include comment from the DOT and a new site visit.